Instride inflatable autonomous fuel depot

A method of autonomously and clandestinely providing fuel to ships and craft comprising the steps:

• providing an elongate streamlined flexible bladder member having flexible hull walls and divider walls forming compartments for containing fuel, said compartments each having a fuel valve and fuel pump, said hull walls and said divider walls being separated by uniform spaces;
• providing buoyancy control of said bladder member to permit submerged transit to a remote destination;
• applying a fuel and water tight composition in communication with said hull walls and divider walls along said spaces;
• preventing fuel leaks to ambient water and fuel and water leaks between said compartments by said composition;
• connecting a submersible propulsion system by towing lines to said bladder member;
• towing said bladder member submerged by said propulsion system to said remote destination;
• coupling driving signals from a command/control system on said submersible propulsion system to said propulsion system, said command/control system having a preprogrammed computer, an inertial navigation system (INS), a global positioning system (GPS), and RF transceiver to generate said driving signals;
• and
• steering said flexible bladder member to said remote destination by said propulsion system receiving said driving signals from said command/control system.

A method of autonomously and clandestinely providing fuel to ships and craft comprising the steps:

• providing an elongate streamlined flexible bladder member having flexible hull walls and divider walls forming compartments for containing fuel, said compartments each having a fuel valve and fuel pump, said hull walls and said divider walls being separated by uniform spaces;
• providing buoyancy control of said bladder member to permit surface transit to a remote destination;
• applying a fuel and water tight composition in communication with said hull walls and divider walls along said spaces;
• preventing fuel leaks to ambient water and fuel and water leaks between said compartments by said composition;
• connecting a surface propulsion system by towing lines to said bladder member;
• towing said bladder member on the surface by said propulsion system to said remote destination;
• coupling driving signals from a command/control system on said surface propulsion system to said propulsion system, said command/control system having a preprogrammed computer, an inertial navigation system (INS), a global positioning system (GPS), and RF transceiver to generate said driving signals;
• and
• steering said flexible bladder member to said remote destination by said propulsion system receiving said driving signals from said command/control system.